The past week itself was a fairly normal work week consisting of gathering samples, running them over the James Table, and organising the results. I was also writing a report for Lloyd as well as preparing for the big weekend visit from a Canadian investor. Lloyd called on Friday morning and said I was going to be giving a 30-minute presentation on the geology of the mine to the Canadian and his associate, who were going to arrive on Sunday morning in a helicopter. So while others were clearing the mine's helipad and scrambling to find a wind sock, I was writing my presentation.
On Saturday morning, I accompanied Nick who was going into town to pick up a new Land Cruiser we were renting for the weekend to move around our VIP guests. Lloyd was pulling out all the stops for these guys, more so than any of the potential investors that have been through over the past couple of months, so I'm assuming these Canadians have a fair bit of money to invest. Anyway, Nick picked up the Cruiser at the dealership, and I took over the pick-up we drove to town in. I made the obligatory stops at Pick n Pay (grocery store) and the butchers for their amazing biltong (beef jerky), sent of some letters at the post office, and proceeded back to the mine. With all the rain over the past month, the potholes on the way back to Klipwal have only gotten worse, and I managed to go over a couple pretty deep ones on this trip. Then, when I was only a few miles from the mine, my left rear tire exploded after presumably hitting a rock on the dirt road. I've never changed a flat tire on my own before but how hard could it be?
Well, luckily I was spotted by a few local Zulu kids who were hanging out at the bar I happened to stop near, and by the time I got the jack and the tools out, they were hovering over the busted tire. They helped me jack up the car and then we got to loosening the nuts on the tire. After putting the spare tire on and bolting it up, all seemed well until I started letting the jack down. Turns out the spare tire was very flat. Not completely destroyed like the tire we had just taken off, but there was not nearly enough air in it for me to continue driving on. So I ended up calling Petrus at the mine, who eventually arrived with an electric pump. Finally I returned home, thankful for the help of the friendly Klipwal Zulus and Petrus.
Sunday morning I was feeling a bit nervous with the impending presentation hanging over my head, but I knew they would arrive soon and that I knew my stuff, so I went to the office at 9 to practice a bit. Then I got the call from Nick that the helicopter, which was leaving from Johannesburg, was delayed due to the weather. The delay kept getting longer and longer until finally, just after 2 pm, we could hear the chopper blades humming and the helicopter descended from the clouds, making a pass around the mine and eventually landing on the helipad at the top of the ridge next to the main offices.
Lloyd introduced the Klipwal crew and I to the investors Bob and Chris, and we sat down in the board room for me to give the presentation. And I ended up nailing it, if I can say so myself. Bob and Chris were really nice guys too, so that helped. The rest of their stay was spent touring the plant and surface works, but their schedule was too tight for a visit underground. Just like that, they were rushed away back into the helicopter, which flew westward and disappeared into the clouds. The visit on the whole went extremely well, which felt good after everybody had been preparing for it so hard all week. It was kind of like what should have happened in Jurassic Park if the dinosaurs didn't end up escaping and eating Newman from Seinfeld.
3 comments:
Biltong - bring me some back!
Awesome Doug, good to hear the presentation went well
Way to come through in the clutch, unlike the San Jose Earthquakes.
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